A termite inspector will review all accessible locations for signs of termite infestation and damage, both past and present. In addition to identifying activity, your inspector also should indicate areas in or around the home that can be conducive to termite activity. Structural and moisture issues can include standing water on the roof, pooling water around the foundation, wood mulch close to the foundation, and wooden deck supports that touch the soil.

What Does a Termite Inspector Check?

A termite inspector looks for visible signs of termite infestation, including wood damage, mud tubes, discarded wings, termite exit holes and termite droppings. Your inspector also will look for moisture issues and wood-to-ground contact that can be conducive to termite activity.

What Areas Do Termite Inspectors Inspect?

Termite inspectors focus on common termite entry points and hot spots for activity based on each termite species’ unique behavior. For example, when looking for subterranean and Formosan termite activity, the inspector will target the inside and outside perimeter of a home, including the lowest level of the house, foundation, basement, accessible attics and crawlspaces. If drywood termites are active in the area, your inspector will inspect exposed wood, hardwood floors, attics, crawlspaces and eaves, where accessible. Inspectors also may check wooden furniture for signs of drywood termites.

If your termite inspector suspects activity in an area that is not immediately accessible, he or she will note the conditions in that area and explain potential methods to provide a more comprehensive inspection with special equipment. At times, inspectors recommend drilling small holes in walls or other areas to confirm termite activity.

If you see termites in and around your home, you are most likely looking at winged (swarming) termites. Once or twice a year, mature termite colonies send out reproductive termites (called alates) to start colonies. Compared to workers, alates have wings, fully developed eyes and much darker and harder bodies. Based on these characteristics, some homeowners may confuse termite swarmers with flying ants.

Color of Termites by Caste
Termites are divided into three main castes based on their roles and responsibilities in the colony. Termites’ color and physical characteristics vary based on the tasks they need to complete.

Nymph & Worker Termites
Generally speaking, nymph and worker termites are pale in color and have soft bodies.

Soldier Termites
The soldier termites? soft bodies are often pale in color. Their enlarged heads are hard and may be a wide variety of colors, from yellow to reddish-orange to black.

Reproductive Termites
Winged alates may be pale yellow to light brown, or dark brown to black. Their hard bodies and dark color help them retain moisture, which enables them to leave their nests without drying out.

Termites’ wing colors vary by species, ranging from colorless, almost translucent, to gray or brown. The number of veins in wings is often a clue to the species. Drywood termites and most dampwood termites have front wings with three major veins, while subterranean, Formosan and some dampwood termites have front wings with two major veins.

Secondary and tertiary reproductives are light in color, similar to worker termites. However, termites in these castes also have wing buds that differentiate them from workers.

Termite shelter tubes can extend 60 feet or more and may be found along building walls reaching up to one or two stories above ground, especially where there is high humidity or a water source. Both native and Formosan subterranean termites have been found above the tenth floor in buildings. There is no limit to how high they can go up, if they find adequate moisture.

Subterranean termites also build tunnels inside their nests underground. These mud tubes connect the different rooms of the termite colony and allow termites to travel to food sources and move to rooms with optimal temperatures.

Both subterranean termites and termites that inhabit wood (such as drywood termites) create tunnels in the wood grain as they digest the cellulose. Damaged wood typically makes a hollow sound when tapped.

What Do Termite Tunnels Look Like?

As these pictures of termite tunnels show, mud tubes are earth-colored and typically about the width of a pencil, though they may range in diameter from 1/4 inch to 1 inch.

Government organizations complete termite surveys to gauge the spread and activity of termite species nationwide, including subterranean termites. Field surveys may include information recorded by using sticky traps to capture swarming termites, or monitoring stations to test for the presence of foraging termites. Another type of termite survey relies on pest control experts to submit geographical information for termite species they have identified.

Common Subterranean Termites in the U.S.
Termite maps created from surveys and academic research show the broad reach of subterranean termites across the U.S.

The eastern subterranean termite can be found from Maine down to Florida, across to Montana and down to the Gulf Coast in Texas.

The western subterranean termite can be found from Washington to southern California and into Idaho and Nevada.

Formosan termites can be found in Louisiana, Texas, Hawaii, California, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

The arid-land subterranean termite can be located in sunny, dry areas from the Pacific Coast to Indiana, down to southern California and across to Texas and Mississippi.

The desert subterranean termite can be found in southeastern California and southern Arizona.

When drywood termites clean their nests, they push their fecal pellets (remnants of digested wood) out through kick out holes in the wood. You may find little mounds of pellet-shaped droppings directly underneath the kick out holes (also called exit holes).

Subterranean termites generally do not leave behind visible droppings.

What Do Termite Droppings Look Like?

Drywood termite droppings have six concave surfaces and rounded ends.

Subterranean termites use their droppings in the construction of tunnels and mud tubes, so their droppings cannot be distinguished from the nest.

Since treatment and repairs for water damage and termite damage are very different, contact a licensed termite inspector for help determining whether wood damage was caused by termites or water.

How to Tell Water Damage from Termite Damage
Water damage to wood often creates square-shaped “cells” in the wood. This pattern can be called “cubicle rot,” referring to the cube-shaped square cells. It also is called “alligatoring,” because the square-shaped cells resemble an alligator?s back. These square-shaped cells are created because the wood expands and cracks with the increased water content.

When subterranean termites consume wood, they eat along the softer springwood and leave the harder summerwood. If you look at a cross section of a tree, the lighter-colored rings are springwood and the darker-colored rings are summerwood. In a cross section of subterranean termite-damaged wood, summerwood has a honeycomb appearance after the springwood has been eaten. Length-wise, summerwood looks like thick sheets of paper after the springwood has been eaten.

When drywood termites consume wood, they eat along and across the grain. They excavate large galleries for their nests, and they connect these galleries with tunnels. Due to their smaller colony size, drywood termites typically do not damage wood as much or as quickly as subterranean termites.

Some species of termites, including dampwood termites, only feed on wood that has already been damaged by water. In this case, you would need to address the water issue and termite infestation simultaneously, before repairing the damage.

Compare Water Damage and Termite Damage in Pictures

As you can see in these dampwood termite pictures, these termites most often are found in damp wood, such as logs, stumps and other decaying wood. Most dampwood termites do not require soil contact.

Dampwood Termite Colonies

Compared to subterranean termite colonies, dampwood termite colonies tend to be fairly small. A mature colony might grow to 4,000 termites.

Dampwood termites inhabit and feed on wood with high moisture content. Since most homes do not have very moist structural timbers, dampwood termites are not classified as major structural pests in the United States. However, if your home has damp wood, termites can infest it and build nests. When dampwood termites infest homes, their point of entry is often wood-to-ground contact.

Signs of Dampwood Termite Infestation

Signs of dampwood termite infestation include small swarms of flying termites and fecal pellets. Both dampwood and drywood termites leave behind small mounds of fecal pellets. However, drywood termite pellets are six-sided and dry, while dampwood termite pellets are moist and not as well defined in shape. It is unlikely that you will see dampwood termite damage, as worker termites typically plug all holes in wood with fecal material.

Dampwood Termite Control

If dampwood termites have established a colony in your home, your first priority should be to address moisture issues. When the colony’s source of water is removed, most dampwood termites will dry out and die. Team up with a contractor to identify and correct the water problem, which may be caused by leaky pipes, a leaky roof, faulty gutters or air conditioner condensation lines.

Then, contact your pest control expert to complete an inspection for any continued activity. If the water issue cannot be corrected, your pest control expert may be able to treat the wood with termiticide. However, some chemicals are diluted by water and may not be as effective.

In some cases, you will be achieve the most effective termite control by making structural changes, such as replacing damp, infested wood.